castrat-, castra-, castro- +

(Latin: to cut, geld, spay; to remove the testicles or ovaries of an animal, including humans)

castracism

1. The practice of prepubescently castrating male humans with the purpose of preserving their alto or soprano voices.
2. Prepubescent castration.

castracize, castracization

A neologism for a blend of castrate and ostracize: to both castrate and ostracize at the same time.

Most often stated by females in response to unacceptable male behavior.

castrate, castrating

1. To deprive (gonadectomize) a male of his gonads, rendering him incapable of reproduction; thus, to geld or to emasculate; in the female, to remove the ovaries, or to spay.
2. Any individual who has been rendered incapable of reproduction by removal or destruction of the gonads (male) or ovaries (female).
3. To psychology render someone impotent; literally or metaphorically, by psychological means; especially, by threatening a person's masculinity or femininity.
4. To deprive someone or something of strength, power, or efficiency; to weaken: "The General said that without reinforcements the army unit would be castrated."
5. To edit a document, book, speech, etc. by omitting or modifying parts considered to be indelicate.

Called geld for male horses; emasculate for any male; spay for female animals; and oophorectomize (if bilateral) for any female. Also called neuter (in veterinary medicine).

castrated

1. An individual who has been deprived of testes; such as, a eunuch (human being), or an ox or gelding (farm animals).
2. Referred to as gelding, neutering, orchiectomy, and orchidectomy; this practice refers to any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a biological male loses use of the testes.

In Europe, when females were not permitted to sing in church or cathedral choirs in the Roman Catholic Church, boys were sometimes castrated to prevent their voices breaking at puberty and to develop a special high voice.

These men, known as castrati, were very popular in the 18th century. The practice of employing castrati lasted longest in Italian churches, most notably in the Sistine Chapel Choir.

castration

1. The removal of the gonads, or their destruction as by radiation, parasites, or other physical removal.
2. Neutering a male animal by removing the testicles; emasculation.
3. The surgical removal of the testes or ovaries (usually to inhibit hormone secretion in cases of breast cancer in women or prostate cancer in men).
4. The deletion of objectionable parts from a literary work; expurgation.

castration anxiety

Anxiety resulting from real or imagined threats to your sexual functions; originally applied only to men but can in principal apply to women.

castrato (s), castrati (pl)

1. A male singer who has been castrated before puberty so as to retain a soprano or alto voice.
2. A male singer; especially, in the 18th century, castrated before puberty to prevent his soprano or contralto voice range from changing.

castrator, castrater

Someone who castrates farm animals; also known as, a gelder or a spayer.

castroid

1. Resembling or having the characteristics of a eunuch.
2. A male with hypogonadism and deficient secondary sex characteristics.

castrophilia, castrophily; castraphilia, castraphily

1. Transvestitism, characterized behaviorally by dressing in garments of the opposite sex.
2. The transsexual from his early years has a strong desire for transformation anatomically into a female.

In some people, the desire is so strong that they seek castration (castrophilia) or prefer suicide to living as a man.